MCMC & OHSU Breaking Ties

By Tom Peterson

Mid-Columbia Medical Center and Oregon Health Sciences University formally ended several aspects of their collaborative agreement that will affect primary care, general surgery, orthopedics, endocrinology in weeks and months to come.

It is the latest news about the local hospital that cut ties with OHSU Cardiology in August and has seen 14 clinicians leave the Medical Center in the past year. 

The announcement released by OHSU today, Dec. 27, runs contrary to what MCMC CEO Dennis Knox said in late May.

CCCNews had asked Knox if the affiliation with OHSU would be renewed after it was announced the partnership with OHSU for Cardiology was being phased out.

"I can’t know what tomorrow is going to bring,” Knox said. “2024 is a long way off. It’s not on my radar screen right now.”

OHSU provides general surgery, orthopedics, nephrology, and other services, Knox said.

But will they continue to? 

“I have no reason to think they aren't,” he said in May.

The following is today’s announcement from OHSU:

After several months of conversations, prioritizing continued patient access and provider support, MCMC and OHSU agreed on Dec. 14, 2021, to end several aspects of their formal collaboration agreement.

MCMC’s priority will continue to be providing exceptional care to patients and the community. As Oregon’s academic health center, OHSU remains committed to supporting patient care in The Dalles based on the community’s needs.

In order to minimize the impact to patients and the provision of care, the changes outlined below will happen over time and be communicated directly to impacted individuals. MCMC and OHSU will:

• End the existing Clinical Collaboration Agreement, which outlined OHSU as the exclusive provider of primary care services at MCMC.

• Revise the existing Primary Care Professional Services Agreement so that the responsibility for recruitment, hiring and/or employment of primary care providers transfers to MCMC.

• Allow current OHSU providers to transition to the employer of their choosing.

• Continue the professional services agreements in the following specialties through June 30, 2022, or when OHSU no longer has any employees providing such services at MCMC, whichever occurs first: general surgery, orthopedics, endocrinology. These and the remaining professional services agreements will be renegotiated on an individual basis as they come up for renewal.

• Ultimately transition the electronic health record (EHR) used by MCMC from the OHSU EHR to another EHR provider.

• Transfer all revenue cycle and compliance obligations to MCMC.

• End OHSU’s participation on the MCMC Board and the Health Care for the Mid-Columbia Region Board.

• MCMC and OHSU believe the termination of the Clinical Collaboration Agreement and the agreed-upon arrangements for primary care and specialty contracts will give providers the autonomy they need to make their own decisions about their professional future, while simplifying the employment structure.

Over time, OHSU and MCMC will continue to work through this transition and will work directly with providers and all those impacted.

The announcement was signed by John G. Hunter, M.D., Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer, OHSU Health; Dennis Knox, President, and CEO, Mid-Columbia Medical Center; Phil Brady, Board Chair, Mid-Columbia Medical Center

CCCNews has reached out to Knox, Brady and OHSU’s Anthony Masciotra for comment. 

At 3:38 p.m., OHSU’s Erik Robinson responded. “We won’t be commenting on this development.”

OHSU Cardiology terminated in August

The announcement comes on the heels of MCMC terminating its contract with OHSU to provide Cardiology services at the end of August. The OHSU Cardiology group operating at Waters Edge consisted of Bassel Beitinjaneh, MD; Matthew LaBarbera, MD; Kevin Wei, MD; and Mrinal Yadava, MD. 

Those doctors are no longer serving patients through MCMC in The Dalles. And Adventist Health of Portland has taken over the cardiology contract. 

The Vice President of Regional Physician Services at Adventist Health is Jody Knox, who is also Dennis Knox’s wife, raising questions about whether a conflict of interest is involved in the new contract. 

“The agreement was negotiated between MCMC and the Northwest Regional Heart & Vascular team,” wrote then MCMC Public Relations Manager Stephanie Bowen in an email in early August. “Jody Knox is not on that team and was not involved in the negotiation or signing of this agreement.”

Bowen has since left MCMC and is working with North Wasco County School District. 

Why Adventist and Not OHSU?

In attempting to understand how the new agreement with Adventist is better for local patients, CCCNews asked what was demonstrably better about the agreement and specifically about the costs of the contract.

MCMC did not address the cost benefits or losses in their response.

This is what MCMC said:

“Our new partnership with Adventist Health Portland Northwest Regional Heart & Vascular will assure the uninterrupted continuation of all existing cardiology services while paving the way for expanded clinical offerings in the future to meet the evolving needs of our community,” Spokesperson Bowen wrote in the email. “In addition, Northwest Regional Heart & Vascular is the closest tertiary heart center to the Gorge, which means highly specialized cardiac care is now more conveniently located to Gorge residents.”

Tertiary simply means health care obtained from specialists.

Adventist Health of Portland at 10123 SE Market St, is 6 miles closer to Mid-Columbia Medical Center.

Adventist is the closest heart center by six minutes. Northwest Regional Heart & Vascular is 6 minutes or 6.2 miles closer to MCMC, according to Google Maps.

Locals are reporting that intake and exam times for patients have been shortened under the new contract.

Hospital Moving

More recently, MCMC released a visioning plan to eventually build a new hospital in the current location of Kramer Field on Webber Street in The Dalles. Kramer Field would then be moved to 35 acres of county-owned property near NORCOR jail on former rodeo ground property. Wasco County Commissioners have already started due diligence on preparing the ground for use.

A recernt letter to patients about Dr. Maile Anslinger leaving MCMC.

Clinicians Leaving

In the meantime, some locals have been tasked with finding new doctors as many have left MCMC during the past year. 

MCMC has lost 14 clinicians from the primary care group. 

They include Jon Soffer, Judy Richardson, Carrie Vieirra, Maile Anslinger, Jordan Nagle, Pema Bhutia, Emma Pieirrs, Rebecca Coombs, Kim Whitaker, Colin McInnes, Jessie Radley, Sara McCaffrey and Margaret Haupt.

Keeping a physician in The Dalles has been a common topic of conversation for years, as some locals have gone through three, four, even five physicians. This week, one person wrote CCCNews stating they were on their fifth physician in the last nine years.

Read CCCNews’ original story about cardiology agreement with Adventist Health here.

Read CCCNews’ orginal story about cardiology agreement with OHSU and MCMC here.